Gaming machines that provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. These gaming machines generally require a player to place a wager to activate a play of the primary game. For many of these gaming machines, any award provided to a player for a wagered-on play of a primary game is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or a winning symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Winning symbols or winning symbol combinations that are less likely to occur usually provide higher awards.
For such known gaming machines, the amount of the wager placed on the primary game by the player may vary. For instance, the gaming machine may enable the player to wager a minimum number of credits, such as one credit (e.g., one cent, nickel, dime, quarter, or dollar) up to a maximum quantity of credits, such as five credits. This wager may be placed by the player a single time or multiple times in a single play of the primary game. For instance, gaming machine configured to operate a slot game may have one or more paylines, and the gaming machine may enable a player to place a wager on each payline for a single play of the slot game. Thus, it is known that a gaming machine, such as one configured to operate a slot game, may enable players to place wagers of substantially different amounts on each play of the primary game ranging, for example, from one credit up to 125 credits (e.g., five credits on each of twenty-five separate paylines). This is also true for other wagering games, such as video draw poker, where players can place wagers of one or more credits on each hand, and where multiple hands can be played simultaneously. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that different players play at substantially different wagering amounts or levels and at substantially different rates of play.
Secondary or bonus games are also known in gaming machines. The secondary or bonus games usually provide an award to a player in addition to any awards provided for any plays of one or more primary games. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Secondary or bonus games are generally activated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary game. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on the payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine may trigger the secondary or bonus game. When a secondary or bonus game is triggered, the gaming machine generally indicates this to the player through one or more visual and/or audio output devices, such as the reels, lights, speakers, video screens, etc. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is the occurrence or triggering of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be).
Another part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is playing the secondary or bonus game. Many known secondary or bonus games, such as those offering free spins of slot machine reels or a free spin of an award wheel, include a limited amount of player interaction. Due to the limited amount of player interaction, a player may perceive these secondary or bonus games as being completely out of the player's control, meaning that the player is relying on pure luck to win a secondary or bonus award. Certain players do not enjoy playing these types of secondary or bonus games, and would rather play secondary or bonus games that include one or more player-controllable elements (or perceived player-controllable elements). Because they are directly controlling (or appear to be directly controlling) certain aspects of these types of secondary or bonus games, the players feel personally invested in, and enjoy playing, these secondary or bonus games. Accordingly, there is a continuing need to provide new secondary or bonus games that include a large amount of player interaction and involvement.